Cost Engineer - Project Cost Control

Parsons; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 134,000 - 201,000; Full time

Job summary

Parsons Corporation in Riyadh seeks a Cost Engineer - Project Cost Control to manage budgets, commitments, expenditures, accruals, and forecasts across complex projects in Saudi Arabia.

The ideal candidate has a minimum of five years in cost engineering or project controls, with strong analytical and reporting skills, and experience with EVM concepts and cost documentation. This full‑time role offers visibility across commercial, planning, procurement, and engineering teams.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in cost engineering, project controls, quantity surveying, or commercial management.
• Experience supporting major construction or infrastructure projects is preferred.
• Strong understanding of cost control principles and project commercial processes.

Responsibilities

• Monitor project expenditure against budgets and baselines.
• Prepare weekly and monthly cost reports for management.
• Analyse cost performance and forecast movements with commentary.
• Maintain cost breakdown structures and allocation by package and area.
• Coordinate variation assessments with multiple project teams.
• Produce reliable forecasting and early warning of budget risks.
• Validate contractor payment applications against contractual values.
• Integrate cost information with planning and project controls data.

Skills

Cost control

Budgeting

Cost forecasting

Earned Value Management

Financial analysis

Project controls

Microsoft Excel

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Construction/Finance

Tools

Project cost control systems

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Cost Engineer - Project Cost Control Job Snapshot

Role: Cost Engineer - Project Cost Control

Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Industry: Construction

Function: Budgeting/Cost Control

Experience: Minimum 5 years

Job Type: Full-time

Country: Saudi Arabia

City: Riyadh

Industry: Construction

Function: Budgeting/Cost Control

Salary: 12000-18000

Estimated salary range based on similar jobs in the job city; please confirm the final offer with the employer. ([GulfTalent][1])

Gender: Any

Candidate Nationality: Saudi Arabian

Job Type: Full-time

Role Context

The Cost Engineer provides the project management team with reliable control over budgets, commitments, actual expenditure, accruals, variations, forecasts, and emerging commercial exposure. Working across Commercial, Contracts, Planning, Procurement, Engineering, Construction, Finance, Project Controls, contractors, and client representatives, the position converts complex cost information into clear financial intelligence. Effective performance in this role helps management detect potential overruns early, evaluate changes accurately, strengthen forecasting, and make informed decisions throughout the project lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Monitor project expenditure against approved budgets, control accounts, and established cost baselines.
• Maintain accurate project cost reports, registers, dashboards, and supporting cost control systems.
• Track actual costs, committed expenditure, accruals, remaining costs, forecast values, contingency usage, and potential changes.
• Maintain the Project Cost Breakdown Structure and ensure costs are correctly allocated by package, discipline, workstream, and project area.
• Prepare weekly and monthly cost reports for project management and senior stakeholders.
• Analyse cost performance and investigate significant movements between approved budgets, actual expenditure, and forecasts.
• Produce clear variance analysis with supporting management commentary and recommended actions.
• Monitor budget transfers and approved movements while maintaining traceability between cost records and authorisations.
• Identify developing cost trends, financial risks, and potential overruns before they materially affect project performance.
• Provide early warnings when changes, procurement decisions, productivity issues, claims, or delays may affect the approved budget.

Maintain comprehensive control of variations and project changes throughout their commercial lifecycle.

• Manage the cost-related elements of the project Variation and Change Registers.
• Assess financial impacts arising from client instructions, design modifications, scope changes, and construction requirements.
• Develop or support cost estimates for proposed variations and commercial changes.
• Review contractor variation submissions and examine quantities, rates, labour, resources, and supporting documentation.
• Coordinate variation assessments with Contracts, Commercial, Quantity Surveying, Engineering, and project teams.
• Track proposed, submitted, under-review, approved, rejected, and client-pending variations.
• Ensure approved changes are incorporated correctly into current budgets and project forecasts.
• Monitor potential exposure from changes that have not yet received final commercial approval.

Forecasting responsibilities require a forward-looking assessment of project financial performance rather than reliance only on historical expenditure.

• Prepare monthly cost forecasts and maintain the Estimate at Completion.
• Update and analyse the Estimate to Complete throughout the reporting cycle.
• Explain forecast movements and identify the underlying operational or commercial drivers.
• Quantify potential exposure associated with outstanding claims, variations, procurement changes, and unresolved scope matters.
• Align cost forecasts with Planning and Commercial teams so projected expenditure reflects current schedule and progress information.
• Support development of mitigation or recovery measures when cost pressure is identified.
• Provide management with realistic forward-looking cost scenarios for decision-making.

Contractor and subcontractor cost administration will form an important part of the position.

• Review contractor and subcontractor payment applications against contractual values and verified progress.
• Support assessment of interim progress payments and associated commercial documentation.
• Validate quantities and reported completion against approved project records.
• Monitor contractual commitments, awarded values, variations, and pending commercial changes.
• Identify discrepancies between physical progress, certified progress, and reported expenditure.
• Coordinate account reconciliation with Quantity Surveyors and Commercial teams.
• Support reconciliation and close-out of contractor accounts where required.

The Cost Engineer will also integrate financial information with wider project controls data.

• Coordinate closely with Planning Engineers and Project Controls professionals.
• Integrate cost information with programme schedules, progress measurement, and forecast data.
• Support Earned Value Management implementation where applicable.
• Monitor Planned Value, Earned Value, Actual Cost, Cost Variance, Schedule Variance, Cost Performance Index, and Schedule Performance Index.
• Analyse cost and schedule trends to identify deteriorating or improving project performance.
• Translate integrated project controls information into practical recommendations for management.

Procurement commitments must remain aligned with approved budgets and forecast requirements.

• Monitor purchase orders and procurement commitments against authorised cost provisions.
• Coordinate with Procurement teams regarding major packages, equipment orders, and outstanding commitments.
• Track long-lead equipment and significant procurement packages that may affect cash flow or final project cost.
• Compare committed values with current forecasts and remaining budget.
• Identify procurement-related cost exposure before purchase commitments create budget pressure.
• Reconcile purchase orders, invoices, commitments, and project cost records.

Reporting responsibilities include maintaining reliable and audit-ready project cost information.

• Prepare recurring cost reports, management dashboards, forecasts, and Estimate at Completion updates.
• Maintain the Cost Report, Cost Breakdown Structure, Commitment Register, Variation Register, Forecast Register, Change Register, Payment Tracking records, and Cost Risk Register.
• Highlight significant financial trends, emerging exposure, and management actions required.
• Present cost status and performance information to project leadership when requested.
• Ensure reported figures remain accurate, timely, supported by documentation, and traceable to source records.

Cost risk management will require continuous assessment of project conditions.

• Identify financial risks and opportunities associated with design changes, client instructions, delays, claims, procurement movements, market conditions, productivity, rework, and scope growth.
• Quantify potential financial impacts and incorporate appropriate exposure into forecasts.
• Maintain visibility of cost contingency and potential change requirements.
• Support development of mitigation strategies with relevant project disciplines.
• Escalate significant cost exposure to project leadership before it affects approved financial objectives.

Ideal Profile

• Bachelor 's degree in Engineering, Quantity Surveying, Construction Management, Finance, or a related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in cost engineering, project controls, quantity surveying, or commercial management.
• Experience supporting major construction, infrastructure, airport, airfield, transportation, or large-scale development projects is preferred.
• Strong understanding of construction cost control principles and project commercial processes.
• Practical experience handling budgets, commitments, accruals, forecasts, variations, claims, and cost reporting.
• Good understanding of Work Breakdown Structures, Cost Breakdown Structures, and project cost coding.
• Experience reviewing contractor payment applications and commercial submissions.
• Ability to assess variation quantities, rates, supporting documentation, and cost implications.
• Working knowledge of Estimate at Completion and Estimate to Complete forecasting.
• Familiarity with Earned Value Management concepts and performance indicators is advantageous.
• Strong numerical and analytical capability with the confidence to investigate cost discrepancies.
• Effective reporting skills for communicating complex financial information to project leadership.
• Ability to collaborate across Commercial, Contracts, Planning, Procurement, Finance, Engineering, and Construction teams.
• Strong problem-solving ability and attention to financial detail.

Skills Set

• Project cost control
• Cost engineering
• Budget management
• Cost forecasting
• Estimate at Completion
• Estimate to Complete
• Cost Breakdown Structure
• Work Breakdown Structure
• Cost variance analysis
• Commitment management
• Accrual management
• Cost reporting
• Change management
• Variation assessment
• Change Order tracking
• Contractor payment applications
• Subcontractor cost management
• Commercial reconciliation
• Claims cost assessment
• Project forecasting
• Earned Value Management
• Planned Value
• Earned Value
• Actual Cost
• Cost Performance Index
• Schedule Performance Index
• Cost risk analysis
• Contingency monitoring
• Procurement commitments
• Purchase order reconciliation
• Cost dashboards
• Cost Risk Register
• Variation Register
• Commitment Register
• Forecast Register
• Payment tracking
• Microsoft Excel
• Project cost control systems
• Infrastructure project controls
• Airport project cost management

Why Join Us

This opportunity places the Cost Engineer within complex Construction programs where disciplined project controls have a direct influence on financial performance and successful delivery. Riyadh continues to generate demand for professionals who understand infrastructure cost management, contractor commercial controls, forecasting, and integrated cost-schedule analysis. The role offers exposure to multidisciplinary airport and infrastructure environments while providing a strong pathway toward senior cost engineering, commercial management, and project controls leadership responsibilities.

About the Company

Parsons Corporation delivers engineering, construction management, project controls, infrastructure, transportation, and technology services for complex programs worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, its multidisciplinary teams contribute to major infrastructure and development initiatives, offering engineering and project controls professionals opportunities to work on technically demanding programs while developing experience across large-scale delivery environments.